JESS WAS THE BRAVE ONE
By
Jess loves thunderstorms and can be counted on to take a strange dog in stride; her older sister Claire--blessed with what her dad terms ""an overactive imagination""--""bleats"" at a tree's windy heights and anticipates a shot as ""a dagger,"" not the ""mosquito bite"" the doctor promises. Still, it's Claire who listens avidly to Grandpa's tales of Harriet Tubman and William Wilberforce and enjoys reenacting their bold deeds; and when bullies snatch Jess's beloved ""Pink Ted,"" Claire boldly saves the day with an impromptu story about two dauntless cousins, Wellington and Wilberforce, heroic products of that same overactive imagination. In her appealing full-page paintings, Wilson catches every nuance in the believable interaction between these deftly characterized little girls. Told with vigor and gentle humor, an unusually fresh look at a perennially interesting theme.